Sunday, January 25, 2009

There are two basic issues with using storm water fees to fund the Farmers Market renovations. The first is whether this is an appropriate use of the storm water fees and second, even if it is, is this a good storm water project. Education is now claimed as a primary reason for doing the project at the Market. Is the education benefit worth the expense of the storm water treatment? The final question is whether this expensive storm water project is a requirement for the Market renovations.

USE of STORM WATER FEES

Jeff Dehring presented a brief history of the Market renovation project to the Parks Advisory Commission (PAC) on January 20, 2009. Mr. Dehring stated that the Market project had been divided into phases so that initial work could begin while additional sources of funding were found to complete the project. He described a loan from the State of Michigan, obtained through the County Drain Commissioner's Office, as the funding now available to complete the project. The loan is to be paid back over the next 20 years from the storm water fees that are part of our utility bills.